I do not own The Lost Boys. I only own Amelia and Sheryl.
Story Start
Moving to a new town is full of different emotions. Some people look at it as a new start, a new adventure. Some look at moving to a new town as leaving everything they ever knew behind. Some just look at a move as the potential for something better.
Amelia was looking for something better. She was in the back of a cop car on her way to her grandmother's house in Santa Carla, California. She was in the back of a cop car because they were the only ones able to take her. Her mother was dead and her step-father was now in prison. Connecting the dots should be easy enough. The state first thought about putting her in child protection services, but she was already seventeen about to be eighteen. The state was also about to let her just go out on the street, but word of her mother's murder reached her grandmother, Sheryl. Sheryl, who was 78 years old and fiesty as ever, refused to let her granddaughter end up on the street. So Sheryl filled out all the fun paperwork, went back to Santa Carla to prepare her house for Amelia, and the cops were now bringing Amelia to Sheryl's house.
"Good luck," the officer driving the car wished Amelia before she exited the vehicle.
Everything she owned was in her backpack. She had a picture of her and her mother from when she was in middle school. She had two pair of pants, a pair of sandals, and a few shirts. She didn't have a lot of time to grab anything else from the house since it was deemed a crime scene.
The cops drove away before the front door opened to reveal her grandmother, who she had only met maybe four times before moving in with her. Sheryl's once copper hair was now a bleached white from years in the sun and age. Her smile was so much like Amelia's mother's smile, but it just had more smile lines. Amelia gripped her backpack strap tight as she walked up the gravel driveway to her grandmother's one story house. Sheryl met her at the front porch steps with a big hug.
"Welcome sweetheart, I was afraid they would never get you here before dark," Sheryl kept an arm wrapped around Amelia's shoulders and led her into the house. "Have you had anything to eat? I made some chicken casserole and salad if you want some."
"That would be great, Nanna," Amelia replied.
Amelia gave a tired smile as she looked around her grandmother's house. It had an eclectic and a bit eccentric style with the ocean glass and driftwood decorations hanging on the walls and on bookshelves. The living room windows were open letting in the sea breeze while the television was playing a black and white film. Amelia could not begin to guess the name of the movie. She was more of a reader than a movie watcher. A growling stomach made her head to the kitchen, which was to the right of the living room and entrance of the house. Sheryl was already fixing her a plate of chicken casserole and a spinach salad with some vegetables mixed in it.
"So do you have any more school left?" Sheryl asked to start conversation at the table. She was worried about how quiet Amelia was being, but she could understand after what the poor girl went through.
"No. I graduated high school in May so I'm done with school," Amelia answered while standing up to put her empty plate and utensils in the sink to wash later.
"What about college? There is a good one a few hours north from here," Sheryl wondered.
"Maybe in a year or two, I'll need to save up for it. Speaking of saving up, I'll need to find a job in town. Any ideas of who is hiring?" Amelia questioned while grabbing her Nanna's plate and utensils.
Sheryl hesitated to answer that question. She knew of places hiring but they were all at the boardwalk, and that was the last place she wanted Amelia to go. She knew Amelia would go there because she's a teenager, but so many young people were disappearing from there every night. She did not want her granddaughter to end up on the missing person bulletin boards around town.
"Maybe the mall in town is hiring or you could get an early morning paper route."
"I'll try the mall and some diners around town. I'll leave the paper routes for the kids," Amelia said, getting a chuckle out of her Nanna.
"Sounds good, come on, these old bones will show you your new room. You can decorate it however you like. If you need anything, just let me know. I'll see what I can do. Also, when you get a job somewhere just give me an idea of your schedule," Sheryl said as she took Amelia down the main hallway of the house to the back where there was the master bedroom and a guest bedroom. "The guest room has its own connected closet and bathroom, so you should be comfortable."
"Thanks Nanna, this is more than I could ask for, it's great. I'm going to get some sleep. That was a long car ride," Amelia said. She gave Sheryl a tight hug before entering the room and closing the door after her grandmother walked back towards the front of the house.
Amelia looked around the guest bedroom. It had a dresser with sewing and quilting materials on top of it. A small outdated television was in one corner of the room on a little table. The bed was covered in a lavender and mint green quilt. The closet was a small closet but it was all she needed, and the bathroom had a basic white sink, toilet, and bathtub.
"I can work with this," Amelia muttered before dropping her bag and going to get cleaned up to finally try to sleep. Sleep was far and few between the last few weeks.